In a classic case of identity theft, a possibility often denied by the Centre and UIDAI, Aadhaar details of nearly 300 people were stolen and their pension money was swindled, in Hyderabad, said a report by The New Indian Express.

Faking identities

The Hyderabad City police estimated that around Rs 40 lakh was stolen in this manner by three fraudsters since mid-2015. The accused, Mohammed Abdul Khader Nakshbandi Aziz, Shaik Sabbir Hussain and Md Aslam were working in the government sector. They have been arrested. Mohammad Abdul Khader was employed at SBI kiosk customer service point in Kummarwadi, Md Aslam was a junior assistant with Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited in Nalgonda district and Shaik Shabbir Hussain was a former e-seva operator.

The trio misused Aaadhaar details of other people to obtain their pension money granted under the Aasara Pension Health Scheme, said the Hyderabad city police. Chavan Dashrath, a resident of Falaknuma, lodged a complaint on Thursday, stating his 12-digit UID number was misused to swindle his pension money. This brought the incident into the light. Dasarth lodged a complaint on October 26, saying that his Aadhaar Number was being misused, as he was receiving messages from Asara scheme about deposit and withdrawal of money.

Upon further enquiry, the police found out that Aziz and his associates had downloaded Aadhaar numbers from the internet. They opened bank accounts through an SBI kiosk in Edi Bazar. The police assume that 300 such fraudulent accounts have been opened with fictitious names and addresses. These accounts have been used to swindle money.

The three accused then posed as officials authorised to process the Asara Pension health Scheme for senior citizens at the Bandlaguda Tahsildar Officer. They further collected the money posing as government officials authorised to sanction the money among the beneficiaries. Deputy Commissioner Avinash Mohanty said, “They have cheated the government and the public. They have swindled money to the tune of Rs 40 lakh.”

According to a report by The Indian Express, ACP Chief Sanjay Rao said, “Mohammed Abdul Khader Nakshbandi Aziz and his team members opened nearly 300 fake bank accounts using fake credentials and fictitious addresses. They cheated the government to the tune of Rs 40 lakh. All three of them have been arrested.”

Similar identity “goof-ups”

Most of the families of Van Gujjar’s in Gaindi Khata village, a settlement of over 800 people, 20 kilometres from Haridwar, Uttarakhand, have Aadhaar cards with the same date of birth, which is January 1, said a report by The Times of India.

Mohammad Alafdin told The Times of India, “We were told, we will be getting, unique identification numbers, here even our birthdays are same. What’s unique about it?” His entire family has the same date of birth on their Aadhaar cards now. The goof-up happened even after the residents provided their voter ID cards and their ration cards to the private agency who were given the tasks of making the Aadhaar cards.

In some cases, even the date of the year of their births was written wrong. The residents spoke about instances where the age of the grandmother was listed as 22 and children’s age was listed somewhere between 15 to 60. Officials of UIDAI, the body entrusted with the task of providing the 12-digit id-proof, however, have refused to accept that any mistake was made.

The Logical Indian

In both the cases, who were the sufferers? The common man. They are being punished by the system, however, no fault on their part. Aadhaar data is being leaked and they are being used by fraudsters to loot the money from a common man’s account.

With Aadhaar as the centre of debate across the country, especially in the past few months, the government is constantly harping and stressing on the fact that the 12-digit number is “unique”, hence it cannot be faked and hence, it cannot be misused by fraudsters.

This has been proven wrong multiple times. The entire premise of Aadhaar was helping the poor and it was supposed to make availing social welfare benefits smoother and more transparent. However, we have seen time and again that is the poor common man who is being looted, thus pointing out to the fact that actuality is immensely contrasting.

The Logical Indian is perturbed with the manner in which the government is pushing for Aadhaar to be made mandatory. The Aadhaar is being made mandatory, yet there are several loopholes because of which the Aadhaar data is getting leaked and it is being used to cheat common people.

There have been several Aadhaar data leaks in the past few months and the common man has been robbed more than once. The logical Indiancommunity urges the government to look into the matter and ensure that the common man does not have to pay the price of a faulty system with several loopholes.

An Entire Village In Uttarakhand Was Born On The Same Day, As Per Residents’ Aadhaar Card

Partner Story

Know Why This Small Town In Tamil Nadu Is In The Guinness Book Of World Records

Did you know there is a town at the southern tip of India that can be called ‘Heaven on Earth’. Its people realise the importance of keeping the environment clean.

Madukkarai Panchayat in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, is the cleanest place in India, owing to around 50 women who wake up every day to collect waste from each and every household in the town. At 6 AM, the women set out to work with their green jackets on, hands covered in gloves and caps adjusted perfectly on their heads. Every morning they line up for the roll call. These ‘Green Friends’ are part of the solid waste management program supported by ACC Cement – Madukkarai.

Madukkarai, a small town at the tip of the country, is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest recycling lesson in the world. With the help of around 50 women, who are now called ‘Green Friends’, and a simple, scalable model, this town is leading the way for efficient waste management. #SwachhBharat

While most of us find someone to put the blame on, Madukkarai decided to take control in their own hands. The town has 8,000 households and a population of 42,000. 82% of the homes hand over garbage to ‘Green Friends’ every day. 1,440 tonnes of garbage is collected annually from the town of 18 wards and 107 streets.

There is a lot that we can learn from Madukkarai. One of the most disturbing realities that we face, despite which part of the country we reside in, is the similar dirt everywhere – garbage piled up on roadside, drains clogged with plastic bags and dogs chewing on the leftover food we have callously thrown on the streets.

We keep our homes clean; make sure that the floors are mopped every day. But why do we not share the same sentiment for our surroundings? We hardly realize that the street outside our home is as much ours as is anybody else’s. We are the ones who use these roads every day to commute. Madukkarai realized this and the importance of a clean environment for our health and well-being.

Guinness Book of World Records for the largest recycling lesson in the world

‘Green Friends’ collect household wastes in eight different bins for wet waste, kitchen waste, plastic waste, etc. This is then disposed in large bins kept in several parts of the town. Trucks pick up this waste daily and take it to the resource recovery park where the garbage is recycled.

The treatment center segregates the different types of wastes. The kitchen waste is converted into fertilizers and given to farmers at extremely low prices to use in cultivation of their crops. The plastic waste is processed to be used in the construction of roads, and also at the large ACC factory where it is used as fuel at high temperatures which does not even cause pollution.

Due to the efforts of ‘Green Friends’, the citizens of Madukkarai, and the municipality, there has been a 60% reduction in landfill waste over the span of three years. There has also been a 50% reduction in the vehicle movement to the landfill sites, 85% of organic waste is converted successfully into vermin compost, ample reduction in the use of fossil fuels, reduction in greenhouse gas emission to 60%, and substantial decrease in the spread of malaria and dengue among the people. Furthermore, barren lands provided for compost yard have been successfully converted into fully functional organic compost yard and non-recyclable waste is used as an alternative energy source for the cement industry.

Madukkarai’s citizens have also become more environment-friendly, with 30% of the households segregating the organic-recyclable waste at home.

What we can learn

Madukkarai has paved the way to the sustainable development of our world. They have shown us that is not impossible to keep our environment clean. All we need is to inculcate in us a concern for mother Earth. It is commendable that ACC is supporting Madukkarai in its venture and helping it stay clean.

We, as citizens of other towns, cities, villages and states in India, have a lot to learn from Madukkarai. We too can have a healthier life if only we care enough and practice our civil duties proudly.